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NEW HAVEN – Several locals were honored last week for their role in the successful rescue of five men, aged 72 to 80, who were fishing near Six-Mile Reef off the coast of Clinton on June 21.
They are Ryan Kelly from Stonington, Evan Kamoen from Killingworth, Luke Voegeli from Guilford and Jeffrey and Jason Nosal from Middletown.
State Senator Christine Cohen, D-Guilford, joined the United States Coast Guard on August 3 to pay tribute to the men who helped save the men as their 25-foot boat took on water and sank six miles off the Connecticut coast in Long Island Sound, according to a press release.
The ceremony took place at the US Coast Guard’s Long Island Sector Station in New Haven.
Cohen was joined by USCG Captain Eva J. VanCamp, State Senator Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, State Representatives Christine Goupil and Greg Howard, First Selectmen Cathy Iino of Killingworth, Matt Hoey of Guilford and Danielle Cheseborough of Stonington, as well as family and friends of the five men, the statement said.
Each received a USCG Certificate of Merit for their heroic search and rescue and a General Assembly citation recognizing their “careful preparation, awareness and quick thinking” that saved the lives of five stranded boaters. , according to the press release.
“Your quick and selfless actions really saved lives that day, and the state of Connecticut wants to recognize you for it,†Cohen said at the event. “We are so proud of you.”
According to the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, at one point, one of the men noticed that there was water in the back of the boat. Upon investigation, the shipowner discovered that water was coming out of the aft storage area and the entire area, including the boat’s batteries, had been inundated with water, the statement said.
Unable to start the engine and as the vessel continued to take on water, the vessel owner told members of his party to put on the life jackets he had on board and put on his radio and sent a call distress, the press release mentioned.
There were two other boats on the water that afternoon, DEEP said. Kamoen, 18, was fishing with two friends when he heard the distress call on his marine radio, which he keeps on and tuned to channel 16, the international distress frequency.
He “looked around, saw the boat and walked towards it. When he arrived he saw that the boat was tilted and shortly after he overturned, â€the press release said.
“The five men were in the water, two of them clinging to the boat, two floating nearby and one that was stuck under the boat but was eventually able to get out from under it. Three of the five men in the water were unable to swim, which makes the situation even more dire, â€he said.
Kamoen and his crew turned off their engines and carefully picked four of the five men out of the water. They didn’t have enough room for the fifth person, but waited for the Nosals to arrive on their boat and lift the fifth person out of the water, according to DEEP.
The five men are largely unharmed, with only minor injuries, he said.
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